No other countries are sending public health experts to San Fransisco, Seattle, or Vancouver to study and copy their addiction and homelessness policies. They’re cautionary tales of what a failed response looks like.
European cities have decriminalized drug possession and operate safe use sites. But they also break up any public drug gatherings outside those sites immediately, disperse or relocate addicts who try to camp, and give users who break laws and engage in anti-social behaviours a choice - mandatory treatment or the justice system. So they do treat it as a public health issue. But they very much do not take the laissez-faire hands-off approach of the West Coast. If you’re an addict using drugs publicly in Europe, the state is going to be up in your business.
And it isn’t just yuppies and small-city tourists who are appalled by street crime and lawlessness in San Fransisco. The mayor herself said:
“It’s time the reign of criminals who are destroying our city, it is time for it to come to an end. And it comes to an end when we take the steps to more aggressive with law enforcement. More aggressive with the changes in our policies and less tolerant of all the bull—- that has destroyed our city.”
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-w...has-destroyed/
She also had this to say:
Quote:
A Safer San Francisco
All San Franciscans deserve to feel safe in their city. No matter where they live — Noe Valley, the Bayview, out on the Avenues, or in the heart of the Tenderloin. And the truth is, right now, people aren’t feeling safe — not safe enough anyway — all over the city.
We need to change course on how we handle public safety in San Francisco. I’m proud that this city believes in giving people second chances. Nevertheless, we also need there to be accountability when someone does break the law. We can’t be a place where anything goes on the street. San Francisco is a compassionate city, but our compassion cannot be mistaken for weakness or indifference.
I was raised by my grandmother to believe in “tough love” — in keeping your house in order — and I believe we need a little of that, now more than ever. And so, today, I am announcing a series of new steps to address public safety in San Francisco…
https://londonbreed.medium.com/a-saf...o-eb40d9d502e4
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